John Ensign: “Congressional investigators have an interest in making sure those documents are available and accessible. A subpoena has…”

“Congressional investigators have an interest in making sure those documents are available and accessible. A subpoena has been served on BNP by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Chairman Coleman and the ranking Democrat, Senator Levin, have also sent letters seeking Oil-for-Food documents to the State Department and the General Accounting Office. An amendment to the Defense bill, which would help Congress to conduct its own inquiries into the Oil-for-Food Program was passed unanimously. We want access to those documents. We wish the Volcker panel well; however, we are not going to abandon the duty of this Congress to conduct proper oversight or subcontract that role to an international body. The stakes are much too high. We now believe that Saddam Hussein, corrupt U.N. officials, and corrupt well-connected countries were the real benefactors for the Oil-for-Food Program. They profited from illegal oil shipments, financial transactions, kickbacks, and surcharges, and allowed Saddam Hussein to build up his armed forces and live in the lap of luxury. The evidence in this far-reaching scandal tells an unbelievable story. Our own U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that Saddam Hussein siphoned off $4.4 billion through oil sale surcharges. Saddam Hussein also demanded kickbacks on the humanitarian relief side from suppliers which amounted to 10 to 20 percent on many contracts.”